1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to screening and separating devices, and more particularly, to such devices utilizing inclined reciprocating arms which are resiliently supported, and a driving means which is mechanically isolated from the arms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the fields of mining and road and airport runway construction, it is often necessary to separate rocks larger than a predetermined size from a mixture of various size rocks. For example, rocks for use in highway roadbed construction must be smaller than a predetermined size. Therefore, the larger rocks must be sorted out from quarried rocks of various sizes. Prior art devices commonly employ some form of mesh or metal grates, and the larger material must be removed periodically, thereby suspending operation of the sorter. These prior art devices are generally not very efficient since each part of the mesh or grate is stationary with respect to the rest of the mesh or grates. As a result, rocks often become lodged in the mesh or between the grates, thereby clogging up the separator. While it was often easy to overcome this problem in theory, the rough treatment that rock sorters receive made implementation of these solutions impractical.
It is an object of this invention to provide a self-cleansing separator which inhibits clogging and, thus, is more efficient than prior art devices.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sorting and separating mechanism which is extremely rugged and, therefore, capable of withstanding heavy loads dropped from above.
It is a further object of this invention to protect the driving mechanism from the shocks imposed upon the reciprocating separating arms.
It is still another object of the present invention to devise a rock sorter in which sorted material may be removed while the machine is operating.